Ford increases virtual crash test computing investment by 50%

We all know that auto manufacturers conduct a lot of crash tests where they take brand new cars, and crash them to ensure they meet federal safety standards. What you might not know is that a lot of crash testing isn’t done in the real world, it’s done virtually. Ford has announced that it has ramped up its computing power to support more accurate virtual crash testing.

Ford says that it has increased its investment in computing power by 50% to maximize the number of virtual crash tests it can perform and the speed to which those tests can be performed. Ford says that some of those virtual crash tests can take a full day to conduct.

Ford has performed over 2 million crash test simulations over the last decade. By comparison, Ford performed its 20,000th full vehicle crash test at its Dearborn, Michigan testing facility not long ago. The new computing power allows the virtual crash tests to have up to 2 million elements, up significantly from the half a million elements used a few years ago.

Engineers at Ford run thousands of computer simulations before moving on to physical tests of the vehicles in the real world. The virtual tests include front impact, side impact, rear impact, roof strength, and safety system checks.